Dynamite published its third Doc Savage mini-series, the four-issue The Ring of Fire in 2017. Unlike the first two, it was written by David Avallone, who had done the one-shot Doc Savage: Twilight comic from Dynamite.
Also unlike the first two series, this one has a storyline that is set in 1938, and runs over the course of a few days. It has all five aides, plus Pat Savage.
Here, Doc is asked to look into a strange event. The U.S. Navy has lost contact with a new naval base in the Pacific, along with a warship that was there, and believes it was due to a new volcano that erupted. Meantime, Pat is being bothered by strange dreams she feels are connected to her friend Amelia Earhart, who disappeared recently in the Pacific.
Well, we learn that both events are connected, and the person behind it all is John Sunlight. And, yes, he’s using tech stolen from Doc’s Fortress of Solitude. As this story is set sometime after his first two appearances, clearly he’s been keeping himself hidden as he’s been plotting and scheming.
There are a few issues here. I felt the conclusion a little hokey. I’ll leave it to the reader to figure out what I mean. I have a few issues with the artwork. I have a hard time believing Doc would have taken a Ford Triplane to the Pacific versus a plane of his own design. And the Helldiver is not as futuristic as shown, though I could believe a new one he designed might be similar. The aides could use a little work. And I’m not keen on Ham having a pencil-thin mustache, which happens too often. The colorist needs to do a better job of making Doc and Pat be more “bronzed.” Their skin tones are little different from the aides.
I’m not sure when we might see a new Doc Savage comic book series or mini. Not even sure if Dynamite still has the rights. Some might have noticed Titan Comics will be reprinting the first storyline from DC‘s First Wave Doc Savage comic book series soon. I’m not sure if they will just be reprinted Doc comics, or if they will be doing new stuff. Frankly, I’ll like to see them reprint the stuff from Millennium or maybe the stuff from Dark Horse. And no matter how bad, I would kind of like to see all the old Street & Smith Doc comics.
